Carphone Warehouse shares rally with buyout rumours

Shares in Carphone Warehouse closed up 2.6 per cent on Friday after rumours that Vodafone were looking to acquire the company surfaced. The recovery made up for the drop on Thursday when sometime competitor DSG International issued a profit warning, the combination putting CPW shares about where they were last week.

While the share price did jump on the rumour of a Vodafone buyout, most analysts felt that any acquisition attempt would originate on the other side of the pond - Best Buy electronics already owns three per cent of CPW, and the companies work closely together.

Being bought by Vodafone would make CPW less impartial, though that independence is debatable now they offer their own services - but it's hard to see what Vodafone would gain besides attracting the attention of the monopolies regulator.

A trading statement is expected from CPW company on 18 January, so the flurry of trading is against what that might reveal. While sales of the iPhone might not have helped the company, it seems likely the footfall the product attracted will have done. Still, we'll have to wait until the 18th to find out for sure. ®